We endorse Congressman Kim for CD3!

NJOP is a non-profit grassroots organization made up of people like you.  We build community power to win the solutions we need.  Nothing about us without us. If we’re not part of figuring out solutions and fighting for our families and communities – then they’re not likely to be real solutions that work for us.

We’re excited to be making our first endorsement in a Congressional race.  And this is the second endorsement we’ve made since our founding six years ago – so we take these seriously.   We are happy to endorse Congressman Andy Kim for New Jersey’s Congressional District 3.  

Here’s why.  

Even before he was elected to serve the 3rd Congressional district  in 2018, then-Candidate Andy Kim reached out to NJOP members to learn more about the work we do together, and the solutions we’re fighting for to address the biggest problems in our communities. He met with us in the cold in Doug and Heather’s garage and listened to our stories about the failures of disaster recovery programs meant to help us get home from Superstorm Sandy. 

He listened at our very first organizational convention when we told him about how our families have been devastated by the overdose crisis and lack of real solutions to stop the preventable deaths from rising. And he listened when we asked him to protect our healthcare and our shorelines. 

When he was elected as our Congressman he took action and worked with us to pass the solutions we need to not just survive – but thrive – here in South Jersey.  One of the first things he did as a Congressman was work with us on introducing legislation to end clawbacks on Sandy survivors. Then he followed through and signed on as a cosponsor to the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act to help end the overdose crisis and make access to Medication Assisted Treatments more easily accessible and affordable. He’s also supported key reforms needed in the National Flood Insurance Program. 

See more detailed information below – but please join us in supporting Congressman Kim. opens in a new windowClick here to check your voter registration.

Congressman Kim has stood and committed to continue to be at the table with us working for what our communities deserve on the following key issues.

COVID-19 Response: COVID-19 has changed the fabric of our lives.   And, it’s not like the challenges we faced before COVID went away.   So we are facing ‘a disaster on top of a disaster.’  We learned from Sandy that the defining struggles to emerge would be paying the bills, including rent/mortgage, and our health, both mental and physical.  We need to make sure no one loses their home due to COVID-19.  We need to make sure that COVID vaccines are safe, affordable, and available to all of us.  And last, we need more assistance from the Federal Government – that specifically includes (among other things) flexible funding for state and local governments to deal with budget shortfalls and help fund things our communities need.   opens in a new windowCongressman Kim is with us.

Economic Security and Dignity:  We started our Economic Security and Dignity team to protect the Affordable Care Act and prevent cuts to Medicaid.  We believe we need to improve and expand affordable, quality care for all of us.  As part of that work, we came to understand how many people in our community are struggling with a substance use disorder or know someone who is.  We also came to understand most of us have lost someone we know to a preventable overdose death or know someone who has.  Under COVID-19, we are seeing increases in overdose – now more than ever, we need to increase funding to expand access to solutions that are proven to save lives such as Naloxone, Medication Assisted Treatment, and harm reduction services.  opens in a new windowCongressman Kim is with us. 

Get Sandy families home & fix our broken disaster recovery systems:  Sandy families are still struggling to get home, and most of our communities are no better prepared for storms and rising seas than we were in 2012.  And just when we thought we had enough disaster on our hands, COVID hit.  We have all been hit by that too.  We need to fix broken disaster recovery systems – including ending clawbacks and making the National Flood Insurance Program put families first. opens in a new windowCongressman Kim is with us. 

Here are our considerations for starting an endorsement process and then making and endorsement:   

1. Is it a race where our endorsement will make a difference – meaning that the effort we put in will have an impact?
2. Are we actually endorsing our community?  Because we’re not interested in endorsing a candidate or a party as much as we are interested in endorsing our vision and agenda for our future, and a candidate or elected official who will work with us to make it happen.  
3. Did endorsed candidates do what we asked (respond to our questionnaire in a timely manner, make time to discuss it with us) and does our elections committee – representative of members and leaders across parties and across our region – want to put in work to support them.  

Want to get really specific?  Awesome, this section is for you.  These are key pieces of legislation that Congressman has either introduced or cosponsored.  

1. Mainstream Addiction Treatment Act H.R.2482/S.2074 will remove outdated and unnecessary barriers getting in the way of our loved ones struggling with substance use disorders to receive evidence-based medically assisted treatment.  The MAT Act allows all doctors to provide buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorders by removing the special waiver and patient limits.  It also ensures federal and state grants can be allocated to other treatment priorities and builds on New Jersey’s efforts to bar prior authorizations and allow paramedics to initiate treatments.   Congressman Kim is a proud cosponsor.   
2. Clawback forgiveness for Superstorm Sandy Survivors H.R.6765 The Security After Sandy Act would stop the federal government from trying to collect debt owed due to Superstorm Sandy and other federally declared disasters since 2006 – including the Community Disaster Loan clawbacks facing New Jersey communities like Little Egg Harbor and Toms River.  Congressman Kim introduced the Security After Sandy Act and has committed to stand with us until it’s provisions are introduced into law. He was also able to get two of the bill’s provisions into the House FY21 Appropriations bill.    
3. NFIP-Re Act of 2019 S.2187/H.R.3872 revises the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and reauthorizes the program through FY2024. The bill addresses NFIP coverage, cost, and availability, including by generally prohibiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from raising certain premiums, surcharges, and fees more than 9% a year for five years and creating an Affordability Assistance fund; the bill also sets forth requirements for Write Your Own companies related to reimbursements, agent commissions, and penalties for underpayment of claims. (A Write Your Own company writes and services federal standard flood insurance policies in its own name.) The bill establishes a state revolving fund for flood mitigation activities and also provides for loans, grants, and other incentives regarding mitigation.  Congressman Kim is a proud cosponsor and supporter of the NFIP-Re Act.